Stranding machine



M. MORRISON.

STRANDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-2, 1921..

Patented July 25, 1922.

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M. MORRISON.

STRANDING MACHINE. 2 APPLICATION FILED Auc=2, 1921.

Patented July 25, 1922.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

M. MORRISON.

STRANDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-2,1921.

1,4233%; Patented July 25, 1922.-

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Mvenfor Mm QAR/SOM Hfi OF/WZQ M. MORRISON. STRANDING MACHINE.,APPLICATION FILED Aus.2, 1921.

ented July 25 7 SHEETS SHEET 4.

v M. MORRISON.-

STRANDING MACHINE. APPLICATION .FlLED AUG-2.1921.

Patented July 25, 1922.

7SHEETSSHEET 5- Patented July 25, 1922.

ZSHEETSSHEET 6- M. MORRISON. ST'RAND|NG MACHINE. APPLICATIONFILED'AUYG-Z, l9il.

M. MORRISON.

STRANDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED Ausnz. 1921.

Patented July 25, 1922.

7SHEETSSHEET 7.

INVENTOR fll/U MOE/W50 ATTORNEY l and passed through a die-stand inwhich the stars MAX MORRISON, OF TRENTON, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THEAMERICAN STEEL AND WIRE COMPANY OF NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEWJERSEY.

s'raaiiiime MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patgnted J l 25 1922 Application filedAugust 2, 1921. Serial No. 489,322.

T 0 all wltOflbit may concern:

Be it known that 1, MAX MORRISON, a citizen of the United States, andresident of Trenton, New Jersey, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Stranding Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to structural improvements in machines used forforming wires into strands or for forming strands into wire ropes. Themachine is provided with means for supporting a multiplicity of wiresupplying reels, comprising a rotary flyer having a twisting headthrough which the wires from the several reels are threaded strands orrope is slightly compressed to the desired pitch or lay. The completedstrand or rope is measured in the usual manner, by a measuring wheelprovided for that purpose, and is drawn out of the machine by the usualpull-out and passes over a take-up and is wound for storage on asuitable reel.

One of the objectsof the invention is to provide a flyer for a strandingmachine which will not be twisted out of true alignment when operated athigh speeds. Another object is to provide a machine of this class havinga flyer which consists of a multiplicity of rotatably mounted discswhich are connected to one another by separate structural members whichcan be removed individually, thereby making it uhnecessary to dismantlethe entire flyer in order to replace or repair one or more of the flyerdiscs. A further object is to provide individual connecting members forthe discs of the flyer which members are shaped and constructed so as topresent greater resistance to bending or twisting than membersheretofore used for this purpose. A further objectis to provide guardsadapted to prevent broken wires from being caught between the discs ofthe flyer and the rollers on which the 1 discs are mounted. A stillfurther object is to construct the reel supportin cradles with latchesadapted to auto matica 1y spring to closed position to ensure that thereel will not fall out in the event that the cradle is accidentallyinverted. A further object is to provide a machine having rolls forsupporting the flyer which rolls are mounted on anti-friction bearingsandprovided with means for lubricating the bearing surface or peripheryof these rollers.

Another object is to combine-and co-ordinate the various devices shownand described so as to effectively perform the functions set forth.

An embodiment of the invention is illus trated in the accompanyingdrawings in which- Fig. l is a. diagrammatic side elevation of a.stranding machine, a central portion of the flyer being broken away asindicated by broken lines;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a port on of the flyer and two ofthe reel supporting cradles carried thereby;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a portion of the flyer with certain partsshown in vertical section to more clearly illustrate certain structuraldetails; I

Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line 44 of Fig. 1; 4 is a detailof a guard;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail in vertical section showing one of thediscs of the flyer and a portion of two reel supporting cradlesassociated therewith;

Fig. 6 is a detail section on line 6-6 of Fig. 4; V

Fig. 7 is a detail plan View of one of the reel supporting cradles;

8 is a side elevation thereof;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of a portion of the cradle showing the springlatch which is adapted to hold the reel against accidental displacement;

Fig. 10 is a section on the line 10-1O of Fig. 9.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the machine consists generally of a flyer Awhich is rotated at a high rate of speed byv a shaft B which isconnected by a flexible coupling C with the armature shaft of a motor D.The shaft B carries a sprocket E which is connected by a silent chain Fto. a similar sprocket G carried on the shaft Hwhich carries a gear J atthe opposite end by means of which motion is transmitted by suitablegearing, not shown, to the pull-out K which in turn is connected by achain drive L to a sprocket M on the shaft N to whichis secured a jacentdiscs, cradles 14 are mounted in bearings, to be hereinafter described,which permit the discs 10 to rotate without rotating the cradles. Eachcradle carries a reel or bobbin 15 which supplies the wire w or strandfrom which a strand or rope is to be formed. Vii-e from each reel 15passes between a pair of guide rollers 16, Fig. 7, and undera guidesheave l7 and through an axial opening in.

the trunnion 18 at the forward end of the cradle 14, Figs. 3 and 5. Thewire then passes under a guide sheave 19 carried by a bracket 20 securedto the disc 10. From each sheave 19 the wire is trained over a guidesheave 21 carried by the connecting members 22 which join the discs toone another. There are a great number of these wire supplying reels usedin forming strands. A stranding machine for making a nineteen wirestrand would naturally employ nineteen reels, 15. In Fig. 1 only twosuch reels have been illustrated in order to' show the machine on areadable scale. The wires w from the several reels are guided in themanner abovedescribed, and are threaded through suitable openings formedin discs 10 and all pass through the end disc and converge toward thecentral twisting head P, Fig. 1, which as it rotates forms the wire intoa strand as will be understood. The twisted strand then passes through adie-block Q and under the measurin wheel R around the pull-out K overthe i lers S and T. The completed strand or rope is wound up on the drum0.

The above describes a typical arrangement of known forms of strandingmachines, or similar machines known as rope laying machines which areadapted to twist strands together to form them into a cable. Thisinvention is not directed broadly to the arrangement for twisting thewires to form strands or rope, therefore, further description of thetwisting operation and mechanism. therefor will be unnecessary.

This invention is chiefly directed to structural improvements now to bepointed out. In a stranding machine employing. for example, nineteenreels, it is clear that the flyer will necessarily be of great length.The distance between the discs 10 is approximately two and one-half tothree feet, there-- fore in a nineteen strand machine, it will be seenthat the length of the flyer will be from forty-seven to fifty-sevenfeet. It will be appreciated that it is important to keep the discs 10which support the cradles in perfect parallelism so that they run trueon their supporting rollers 11. Heretofore the discs 10 have been heldtogether by long rods which pass through openings near the periphery ofthe discs and extended continuously from one end to the other of thefiyer. Pipes or tubes were slipped over these rods to space the discsfrom one another and jam nuts were threaded on these tubes or spacers tohold them in juxtaposition. These tierods were usually spaced 120degrees apart around the disc to permit access to the cradles forinserting and removing the wire supplying reels. In practice such astructure has proven to be very unsatisfactory. The stresses in startingand stopping tended to twist the fiyer out of shape thereby throwing thediscs out of position and causing undue wear and noise and finallyserious break downs. By using a continuous rod of great length extendingfrom one end of the fiyer to the other, it is apparent that in order toremove any of the discs 10 for replacement or repair, it was necessaryto pull out these rods which were approximately fifty feet long andpractically dismantle the entire flyer in order to replace or repair oneof the discs.

In my improved machine I overcome the abovedisadvantages by connectingthe discs 10 to one another by individually removable connecting members22. These members are formed of structural beams offering greatresistance to twisting or bending. To each end of the members I securebrackets 23 which are formed with angular flanges 24 which abut the sidefaces of the discs 10. The flanges 24 and the discs 10 are drilled andreamed for the reception of snugly fitting bolts 25. In Figs. 3 and 4 itwill be seen that bolts 25 pass through flanges 24 abutting againstopposite faces-of the discs 10 and are securely held by jam nuts 26. Thebolts 25 are located a considerable distance from the central axis ofthe beam 22 and, therefore, this connection offers a greater resistanceto bending or twisting out of alignment than would be offered by themere round rods passing through the disc, such as heretofore used. Itwill also be appreciated that in order to remove one of the discs 10, itis merely necessary to remove one set of the adjacent connecting members22 from the disc in question whereupon the disc may be readily removed.WVhile I have shown the connectin members 22 in the form of I-beamshaving connection flanges 24 riveted thereto, it is to be understoodthat these flanges may) be formed integral if desired or the connectingmember may be of channel or other desired shapes. Flyers formerlyconstructed, which were tied together by long round rods, abovementioned, have necessarily been driven from both ends by gearing whichwas connected by means of a long shaft extending the full length of theflyer. Even as thus driven it has been found that in starting, the endsof the flyer would move before the center would, which of course, showedthat to overcome the inertia of the parts a twisting or bending strainwas imparted to the spacer rods. With my improved connecting members.formed of structural shapes and secured to the discs by means of anglebrackets as described, the fiyer forms a perfectly rigid structure whichhas great resistance to bending and twisting strains, and in fact,practical operation, has demonstrated that it can be driven with goodresults from one end.'

The discs 10 of the flyer each comprise an outer rim 28, a Web 29 andhub 30. Each hub 30 is flanged at '31 and a bearing ring 32 is securedthereto by bolts 33. This bearing ring supports a ball bearing 34 whichis retained in place by a cap 35 threaded on a suitable extension onsaid bearing ring. The ball bearing 34 is secured by means of a nut 36to a trunnion 37 which is secured by means of a set screw 38 in a hub 39formed at one end of the cradle 14. At the other end of the cradle a hub40 is formed and provided with a set screw 41 for holding the hollowtrunnion 18, previously mentioned, in place. shown at 42, Fig. 5, topermit the wire w to pass therethrough as will be understood. At its endthe trunnion 18 has securedthereto a ball bearing 43 by means of a clampnut 44, this bearing being seated in a supporting ring 45 which issecured by bolts 46 to a central boss 47 formed on the web 29 of thedisc 10. It will thus be seen that the cradle 14 is rotatably mountedbetween the discs 10 on anti-friction bearings so that as the discs ofthe flyer rotate at a high rate of speed there will be practically notendency to rotate the cradles. These cradles are designed so that theircenter of gravity is considerably lower than the axis of the trunnions18 and 37. The arrangement of trunnions provided with ball bearings, asdescribed, is a marked improvement over the former method of supportingthe cradles, in which the trunnions merely projected into boredapertures in the center of the discs. With such an arrangement thetrunnions soon became worn and frequently the set screws used. to holdthem in place worked loose and the trunnion slipped out endwise, thuspermitting the cradle to drop, often resulting in wrecking the flyer andfrequently injuring the operator.

Reference to Fig. 5 will show that even though set screws 38 or 40, inthe improved form of mounting I have devised, becomes loosened, thetrunnions 38 and 18 will not be permitted to slip out in an endwisedirection because the ball bearings 34 and 43 clamped thereto willprevent such endwise movement. The cap 35 and bearing ring' 32 in oneinstance preventing this movement and the similar members 45 and 45preventing the movement of the trunnion 18.

For rotatably supporting the fiyer, I provide the several rollers 11which are carried on short shafts 48 having ball bearings 49 secured tothe ends thereof as shown in Fig. 6. Nuts 50 being threaded on each endof This trunnion is bored out as the shaft 48 to secure the ball bearingagainst the shoulder formed on the shaft as shown. Theball bearings aremounted in standards 12 having removable caps 52 secured in place bysuitable bolts. In alignment with the ball bearings 49, caps 53 aresecured to the standards 12 to exclude foreign matter from the bearingsand also adapted to retain a lubricant which may be introdued throughsuitable apertures which are closed by plugs 54. The standards 12 areformed with a chamber 55 adapted to contain an oil or other lubricant,and,a spring pressed felt or other packing material 56, is adapted todeposit a fine film of lubricant on the periphery of the supportingroller 11. This felt packing is carried in a cup 57 having apertures 58formed therein to permit the lubricant to seep through and be absorbedby the packing.

Heretofore broken wires have been the cause of considerable trouble inthis class of machinery, often becoming lodged between the discs 10 andthe supporting rollers 11, making it necessary to have the machineremain idle while the wires were being removed. Often these broken wiresresulted in considerably roughenin the surface of the discs of the flyeror o the supporting rolls 10 thus tending to throw the discs out ofalignment. To overcome this object, I have provided guards such as shownin Figs. 4 and 4 The cap of each of the standards 12 is formed withupwardly extending ribs 59 to which I secure guards 60 and 61 by meansof bolts 62 passing freely through the guards and being screw threadedinto the extensions 59 of each cap 52. The extensions 59 are of theshape shown in Fig. 4 so that they overlap the disc 10, for anappreciable distance, each side of its point of contact with thesupporting roll 1.1. At the inner side of the cap 52.1 also secureguards 63 similar to those above described, and which are held in placeby suitable bolts 64 as shown. These guards are all of similarconstruction, therefore, a detailed description of one will suflice forall.

Fig. 4 shows a face view of a guard 63 cut away at 65 so as to provideportions 66 and 67 which project slightly beyond the periphery of thedisc 10. The guards are each provided with slots 68 through which thesecuring bolts pass, and the slotted formation permits the guard to beaccurately adjusted with respect tothe disc 10, so that it just clearsthe latter. This clearance is much smaller than the diameter of the wireused in making strands and, therefore, these guards effectively preventbroken wires from being caught between the discs 10 and rollers 11.These guards also serve to prevent an operator from getting his fingersor clothing caught between the rollers.

At certain locations a yoke 70 is provided having a bearing shoe 71mounted therein which is held in adjusted position by bolts 72 as shownin Fig. 4. The bear ing shoes 71 are provided to overcome the; tendencyof the fiyer to rise oil of one of the bearing rollers 11 when rotatingat an extremely hi h speed. I also provide guards 73 anc 7 1' injuxtaposition to the shoe to prevent broken wires being caught at thispoint.

The reel supporting cradles 14 each comprise side members 75 and endmembers 76. The end members are formed with the bosses 39 and 40,previously referred to. The side members of each cradle are slotted at77 to form an openbearing for the shaft 78 of the wire supporting reels15. While these cradles in normal operation remain practicallystationary as the fiyer revolves, it has been found necessary to providemeans for preventing the reels 15 from falling out when the cradles areaccidentally inverted or partially turned over by a broken wire catchingin the revolving fiyer. Heretofore short bars have been placed over theslot 77 and secured in place by means of tap bolts, but it has beenfound that even these sometimes work loose and frequently an operatorwill fail to put in this locking bar at all. It will be appreciated thatthis mistake can very easily occur, when it is borne in mind that theusual stranding ma-- chine employs nineteen of these cradles, eachhaving two bars to be bolted in position. It is obvious that this alsoconsumes a great deal of time.

To overcome the tedious work of removing and replacing numerous lockingbars, to positively hold the reels in place, and to enable the reels tobe quickly removed when they are empty and replaced by full reels,

when the machine is to be again started for a new run, I have devised alatch which automatically closes by means of a compression spring. Thislatch consists of a ovetail bar 79 provided at one end with a handle 80and being guided in a dove-tail groove 81 milled in a lug 82 formed oneach side member of the cradle. An enlargement 83 is formed integrallywith the slide 79 and has secured thereto a rearwardly extending shank84 which is guided at 85 in a housing 86 which is secured by means ofscrews 87 to the side member 75 of the cradle. A compression spring 88surrounds the shank 84 and is seated at one end against the end of thehousing 86 and at the other end against the enlargement 83 and thustends to normally hold the slide 7 9 in locked position shown clearly inFig. 9.

It is clear this type of lock will positively prevent the reel fromfalling out of the cradle even though the cradle be entirely inverted,the dove-tail formation of the slide being such that it would readilysupport the reel when the cradle became inverted.

It is clear also that to remove the reel it is only necessary to pressback first one latch and lift the reel a slight distance and let itsshaft rest on top of said latch and then withdraw the latch at theopposite end of the reel and lift that end which frees the entire reel.It will also be appreciated that it is a very simple matter to introducea new'reel, it only being necessary to press back the spring latches anddrop the ends of the shaft 7 8 into the respective open bearing 77 ofthe cradle after which it will be clear that these latches will springto a' closed position automatically. The flanges of the reel 15 aregrooved and a rope or cable 89 is trained around each flange andfastened at one end to a fixed hook 90 carried by the cradle and at itsopposite end to another hook 91 formed on the end of a threaded rod 92which may be adjusted by means of a winged nut 93 so as to put a.

slight tension on the reels to prevent them from unwinding too rapidly.

In conclusion it will be apparent that I have provided a machine inwhich the flyer discs are connected by rigid connecting members havinggreat resistance to bending or twisting and which insure that thesediscs will run true at a high rate of speed. The connecting members areindividually removable thus making it an easy matter to remove any onedisc without dismantling the entire flyer. It is also apparent that Ihave provided improved means for prevent ing broken wires from. gettingtangled up between the discs and their supporting rollers, and that Ihave devised a reel retaining latch which is fool-proof and easily andquickly operated. These improvements have been embodied in a full sizedmachine and have resulted in a great increase in the output per machinein a given time over the output of machines as formerly constructed.

Though I have described with great particularity the specific details ofthe embodiment shown, it is to be understood that I am not limitedthereto as changes in construction, arrangement and substitution ofequivalents may be made by those skilled in the art without departingfrom the invention as defined in the following claims:

1. In a machine of the class described, a flyer including at least threecradle supporting discs joined to each other by discontinuous connectingmembers so as to permit the removal of one or more of the discs forreplacement or ,repair without the necessity of dismantling the entirefiyer.

2. In a machine of the class described, a flyer including at least threerotary discs, separate members for connecting adjacent discs comprisingstructural beams shaped to oifer great resistance to torsional strainsand having flanged connections on the ends thereof arranged to besecured to the side faces of said discs, and reel supporting cradlesrotatably mounted between said discs.

3. In a machine of the class described, a flyer including at least threerotary discs, separate members for connecting adjacent discs comprisingI-beams having flanged brackets rigidly secured to the ends thereof andsnugly fitting bolts passing through reamed holes in said flangedbrackets and said discs and arranged to'hold said discs trul paralleland to positively resist the tendbn'cy of the flyer to twist or becomedistorted in use. 3

4. In amachine of the class described, a fiyer including at least threecradle supporting discs joined to each other by staunch torsionresisting members, reel supporting cradles rotatably mounted in saiddiscs, rollers engaging said discs to rotatably support the flyer, andguard members secured in juxtaposition to the rollers and discs toprevent broken wires being caught between said rollers and discs.

5. In a machine of the class described, a rotary fiyer including atleast three discs joined to each other by individually removableoonnecting members.

6. In a machine of the class described, a rotary fiyer including atleast three discs joined to each other b' individually removableconnecting mem ers, reel supporting cradles having trunnions mounted inball bearings carried by said discs, and rollers co-acting with saiddiscs to rotatably support the fiyer, fixed stands having ball bearingsthereln for supporting said rollers, said stands being formed with.reservoirs adapted to contain a lubricant and means for conveying thelubricant to the peripheries of the rolls.

7. In a machine of the-class described, a rotary flyer including atleast three discs joined to each other by individually removableconnectin members, reel supporting cradles rotatab y mounted in saiddiscs, each of said cradles having a pair of spring actuated latchesarranged to prevent the reel from falling out if the cradle isaccidentally turned over. I

8. In a machine of the class described the combination with the'discs ofa rotar flyer, of cradles comprising side and en members, trunnionsremovably secured by set screws to said end members, anti-frictionbearings bolted to said trunnions and means for securing saidanti-friction hearings to the discs so as'to prevent endwise movement sothat in the event of the set screws being loosened the bearing willprevent the cradles from being thrown out and wrecking the machine.

9. In a machine of the class described the combination with the discs ofa rotary flyer, of cradles comprising side and end members, trunnionscarried by said end members, anti-friction bearings secured to saidtrunnions and supported in said discs, wire supplying reels havingsupporting shafts,

cradle for supporting said shafts, said side members being slotted topermit the reels to be lifted out of or placed in the cradle and springpressed latches arranged to normally close said slots to prevent thereels from falling out of the cradles when they are accidentally turnedover.

10. In a machine of the class described, a fiyer comprising at leastthree discs connected to each other by individually removable connectingmembers, means for rotatably supporting said discs, substantiallystationary cradles supported on anti-friction bearings carried by saiddiscs, said cradles having side members slotted to form bearings, wiresupplying reels having shafts supported in said slotted bearings, barsslidingly supported in said side members and normally bridging said slotto prevent the removal of said reels and yielding means for holding saidbars in place.

11. In a machine of the class described, a fiyer comprising at leastthree discs connected to each other by individually removable connectingmembers, means for rotatably supporting said discs, substantiallystationary cradles having trunnions rotatably mounted in said discs,said cradles having side members slotted to form open bearings, wiresupplying reels having shafts supported in said open bearings, dove-tailbars slidable in ways formed in said side members and bridging said openbearings, springs for normally holding said dove-tail bars in positionover said shafts and casings secured to the side members for enclosingsaid springs. f

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

bearings formed in the side members of the

